Only 5% of large companies prepared to meet IT requirements of new digital biz: Dell EMC report

Though a majority of large companies are aware that digital transformation is essential to stay competitive, only 5% are actually prepared to meet the IT requirements of the new digital business, a report by Dell EMC points out.Nilesh Christopher | ET Bureau | Updated: May 03, 2017, 23:55 IST

Though a majority of large companies are aware that digital transformation is essential to stay competitive, only 5% are actually prepared to meet the IT requirements of the new digital business, a report by Dell EMC points out.

“These findings mirror how the vast majority of customers are telling us they need to optimise their existing infrastructures to take advantage of digital-age opportunities,” said David Goulden, President of Dell EMC.

The study commissioned by Dell EMC shows 95% of survey respondents indicate that their organisations are at risk of falling behind a small group of competitors who are transforming their IT infrastructures, processes and delivery methods to become digital businesses.

The report said many organisations still measure application cycle times in months, have siloed infrastructures, and continue to grapple with rigid legacy architectures which act as barriers to undertaking digital transformation.

“With the Government of India’s increased focus on digitization and the surge in the number of new age companies, organizations’ Digital Transformation initiatives are unlikely to dissipate –reinforcing the need to start the IT Transformation journey immediately, which is the first step for organizations to realize their Digital Transformation goals,” said Rajesh Janey, President & Managing Director, India Enterprise, Dell EMC

The 1,000 participating organisations were segmented into four IT transformation maturity stages - Legacy, Emerging, Evolving and Transformed, and only 5% companies fell in the “Transformed” bucket ready to meet expectations.

Of the “Transformed” companies, 85% believe their organisations are in a "very strong" or "strong" position to compete and succeed in their market over the next few years contrasted with 43% of the least mature companies.

While 71% of the firms surveyed agree they will not be competitive without IT Transformation, a few managed to stay ahead of the curve. Organisations with matured IT transformation exceeded revenue targets last year by more than 2X compared to the least mature firm. These organisations are 7X more likely to recognise IT as competitive differentiator and profit centre, the report said.